“It is cold, dark and pouring down with rain. It is a Bank Holiday and I am the ONLY ONE awake in the neighbourhood. There isn’t even one light on in all the seven high-rise blocks that I can see from the window!”
~ note on the second day of the 6AM Writing Challenge

It has been one week since I started the 6AM Writing Challenge, in which, as the title suggests, I wake up at 6AM to write before starting the day. Have I actually managed to wake up at 6AM during this first week? And, if yes, have I actually managed to write upon waking? Let me tell you all…

So long, snooze: Yes, I have actually managed to wake up at 6AM every day! Although I do wake up groaning and wishing I could press the snooze button justone more time…I believe I don’t wake up in a very good mood, either, but luckily, I can take it all out on the paper.

Nothing Too much to say: My aim for the 6AM Writing Challenge was to do one hour of writing. However, I was anxious that one hour would be too long – what would I write about for so long so early in the morning? By the second day, it turned out that I actually needed more than an hour! On the week-end, I ended up writing for three hours.

Poet by night, rambler by morning: When I was doing the 120-day “Do What You Love” Challenge, I wrote for fifteen minutes before going to bed, and usually wrote poems or short stories. In the first week of the 6AM Writing Challenge, on the other hand, I have been writing articles, blog posts or streams of consciousness in Morning Pages-style. I quite miss the poetry, actually…

Finding the time: On the topic of poetry – on one of the first days of the 6AM Writing Challenge, I sorted out all of my poems, making a special file for the poems that I would like to enter into competitions. I have wanted to do this for months, but “never had the time”.

Picking priorities: It feels great to start the day by doing what I love; by the time I leave the house for work, I feel like I have already fulfilled the day’s purpose. I now also have the whole evening free to relax and spend time with my partner, whereas before I had to pick between the two things I love most: my loved one and writing!

Double Espresso and two sugars, please: On the first two days of the 6AM Writing Challenge I got an energy slump by mid-day and had to take a nap in the afternoon! My body wasn’t used to waking up earlier than the sun! A week later, my body seems to be getting used to the extra few hours in my day, although I’ve thrown my “I-only-drink-coffee-on-special-occasions” motto out of the window.

So, although it’s not easy to wake up at 6AM to write, the first week of the 6AM Writing Challenge has been a pleasant surprise, bringing about many positive and unexpected things. I look forward to discovering the second week!

Love Out Loud was recently awarded the One Lovely Blog Award by the awesome ToeMail!

“We appreciate the time and energy it takes to run a good blog and so we have nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award! We would be honored if you accept this award!”

ToeMail is one of the most original blogs I have come across. Posting photos of toes in the most diverse places on Earth, ToeMail never fails to surprise and entertain. ToeMail has inspired many of my own photos and has made me discover a whole new creative way of capturing memories!

As part of the award, I am to share 7 things about myself with my readers: